


Friendly Favors

by TheatricArcana



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Assisted Corset lacing, Flirting, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Trans Essek Thelyss, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, chaste victorian style yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:55:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28675560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheatricArcana/pseuds/TheatricArcana
Summary: Caleb tried to speak, but he couldn't open his mouth, which was just as well considering that he had no idea what he would say to Essek anyways, or what question he should ask to get the answers he needed. Was Essek expecting someone else? Should he leave? How long had he been staring? Oh gods, shouldn't he have looked away by now?Luckily, Essek did not leave Caleb to fumble and fluster himself for long."Your timing is impeccable as always, Mr. Widogast. I was actually just hoping someone would come to see me." Essek says, with a pleasant smile.And then-"Would you mind helping me lace this up?"(AKA the one where Essek wears a corset and Caleb helps him lace it)
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 14
Kudos: 133





	Friendly Favors

**Author's Note:**

> The Whalebone Corset is a homebrew item that I used for this fic because I love it and it seems very Essek. You can look at it here [ https://fursvelg.tumblr.com/post/631396886284288000/made-with-homebrewery-are-your-casters-too ]
> 
> No warnings really apply that I can think of, just a lot of tension and Caleb being a bisexual disaster in this one.

Caleb knocked as softly as he could on the door of Essek’s room, hoping not to disturb Essek unless he was already awake on his own accord. It became apparent to Caleb when he woke up this morning that Essek had  _ not _ slept after they had all parted ways to rest last night, but had instead gone to the library to peruse Caleb’s collection for some 'light reading'.

Or at least, that’s what Essek had claimed when Caleb found him still there in the morning, enthralled in a novel in one of the cozier nooks of the library, obviously having stayed up all night to read.

They had downtime to spare, and no rush to accomplish anything today, so Caleb had insisted Essek go to the room Caleb had made for him and make up for the sleep he lost, or even trance if Essek could. It had taken some careful persuading to drag Essek away from the novel he had been in the middle of, but once Caleb had broken his fixation on the reading once, the lack of sleep seemed to catch up to Essek rapidly, and he had begrudgingly agreed to rest after only a few minutes of deliberation.

As it was now, it hadn’t been long enough for Essek to make up for a night of lost sleep unless he had tranced, but Caleb knew Essek didn’t trance very often, which meant knocking on his door was a bit of a gamble. Disturbing Essek’s sleep when he was already short on it would be inconsiderate, but if Essek had managed to trance then he should already be awake, and Caleb wanted to make sure Essek got filled in on all the details of their plan as soon as possible, since they had discussed their next stop while Essek had been asleep. Caleb feared it would be rude not to.

Luckily, Essek’s voice came quickly in response, a good sign that Essek was already awake and alert.

“Come in!” Essek called back only moments after he knocked, and Caleb only fumbled with the doorknob once due to his sweaty palms before successfully opening it and stepping inside, only to freeze in shock almost immediately.

Caleb had never seen Essek in so little clothing.

Most of Essek's skin was still hidden by the undershirt Essek was wearing, honestly, but Essek had only ever worn modest clothing in Caleb's presence, and what Essek was wearing currently was anything  _ but _ . Only thin leggings covered Essek's legs- Surely they were meant to go  _ under  _ something Essek had yet to put on, they were much too thin and hugged Essek's legs far too tightly to be appropriate to wear in public- as well as a white undershirt that looked to be made of  _ incredibly  _ expensive silk and had sheer sleeves, allowing Caleb to see Essek's arms, which Caleb had certainly never seen before now. His gaze lingered on the bare, purple skin that the shirt didn't hide, the faint tiny white freckles speckled across Essek's arms not going unnoticed despite Caleb's glance being so fleeting.

Most interestingly of all, Essek currently had his fingers tangled in long cords behind his back, seemingly fumbling and struggling somewhat with the laces of what appeared to be a corset.

Essek was putting on a corset.

And he just… invited Caleb into his room as if nothing was amiss.

Caleb tried to speak, but he couldn't open his mouth, which was just as well considering that he had no idea what he would say to Essek anyways, or what question he should ask to get the answers he needed. Was Essek expecting someone else? Should he leave? How long had he been staring? Oh gods, shouldn't he have looked away by now?

Luckily, Essek did not leave Caleb to fumble and fluster himself for long.

"Your timing is impeccable as always, Mr. Widogast. I was actually just hoping someone would come to see me." Essek says, with a pleasant smile.

And then- 

"Would you mind helping me lace this up?"

It almost feels as if Caleb's brain is misfiring over and over, his thoughts stuttering in his head, and his mind barely able to process everything Essek is saying and doing, let alone form a verbal response to it. Essek seems completely oblivious to Caleb's struggle as well, and keeps talking to fill the silence that Caleb has neglected to fill himself due to his voice failing him wholly.

"Usually I have one of my housekeepers lend me a hand. As you can see, I have a bit of, uhm-" Essek raises his hands behind his back a little, bringing Caleb's attention back to the tangled laces and the uneven ties going up the back of the corset. " _ -trouble _ , when doing it by myself."

At this point, Essek looks away from the mirror he has behind him, which he was most likely attempting to use as an aid in his effort to lace his corset - albeit the mirror didn't seem to be helping Essek much -, and instead turns to face Caleb, which means he's actually  _ paying attention  _ to Caleb now, and Caleb can no longer stand there fumbling for words with his jaw hanging open.

Caleb is somewhat afraid smoke is about to start coming out of his ears from how hard his brain works to get him back to a coherent enough state to be able to give Essek an actual response and at least  _ appear  _ put together. 

It would be  _ rude  _ to say no, Caleb reckons, although the very thought of assisting Essek with his corset makes his head spin just a little. He  _ wants  _ to help Essek, but actually doing it seems like a whole other monster, and Caleb is honestly not sure if he's capable of doing this for Essek for so many reasons. Even  _ if _ he was able to keep his composure while doing it - which there is a  _ very strong _ probability he could not - he isn't sure if he has the knowledge or skill to actually lace a corset.

Still, saying  _ no  _ to Essek seems impossible at the time.

"I… could try?" Caleb offers, after a silence that is just a few uncomfortable moments too long, and he quickly realizes his answer may not have been sufficient, so he adds on, "I- ah, I don't… I've never done this before, so I'm not sure how much help I'll actually be."

Essek seems unperturbed by this. "I'll show you how. Once you get the hang of it, it'll be easy to do the rest." Essek reassures Caleb with a smile, but it falters a little when Caleb doesn't respond quite fast enough. "Of course, if I would be keeping you here against your will by having you assist me, you don't need to. Perhaps you could fetch Jester for me instead...?"

That was enough for Caleb to get a grip on himself a little more. Caleb didn't want Essek thinking that he didn't want to help, or that he had somewhere more important to be than with Essek. It would be discourteous of him to decline to assist Essek anyways.

" _ Nein _ , I can- I can help." Caleb rushes to correct Essek, and Essek appears somewhat relieved that Caleb isn't refusing.

Essek nods."Let me show you how it's done, then."

Caleb takes that as his invitation to join Essek in front of the mirror, and he follows when Essek directs him to stand behind him. Caleb can see where Essek had started having trouble lacing the corset halfway up, and even the laces that were already done were uneven and not tight enough. 

"All you have to do is pull these sections of the laces tight starting at the top, and once you've done that, you take the longer length in the middle and pull that tight as well. Then you tighten the bottom half of the laces by..." Essek continued on with his explanation, showing Caleb what he meant as best as he could behind his back, the mirror helping Essek find the right sections of the laces to point out.

"How, ah, tight do you want me to…?" Caleb asked, still not quite able to bring himself to touch Essek or the laces of the corset yet.

"I'll let you know when." Essek said simply, turning to face the mirror on the elaborate vanity that Caleb had thought to include in Essek's room. 

Caleb swallowed his nerves and reached out with hands that were absolutely  _ not  _ shaking to do as Essek had directed him to. The laces tightened with increasing resistance as Caleb began to pull the first section at the top taught like Essek had shown him to, and he let off instinctually, not wanting to tighten it uncomfortably so. Essek quickly corrected him.

"Tighter." Essek directs, and so Caleb does.

Caleb pulls the laces at the top of the corset tight once more, and doesn't stop when he first starts to meet resistance unlike last time. He continues to pull it tight, desperately wishing he had rubbed off his sweaty palms before agreeing to help Essek, until-

"There. That's good." Essek tells him, and Caleb  _ almost  _ looks up to nod at Essek, but he doesn't trust himself to do so, honestly. With the little clothing that Essek is wearing, it feels almost inappropriate to direct his attention to anything besides the task that Essek had given him for even a second. He doesn't want Essek to feel like he's simply trying to cop a feel, or that he just wants to ogle at Essek like he's piece of meat as soon as he's given the chance, so Caleb directs all of his attention solely to the laces he is currently working to tighten. 

Essek does not appear to be flustered at all, which is more than Caleb can say for himself, as his mind is currently racing despite his efforts to remain as respectful as possible. He cannot help but let his gaze linger on the curve of Essek's waist, only made more pronounced as Caleb continued to lace the corset.

If Essek does notice Caleb's gaze lingering on him, he doesn't say anything, but as best Caleb can tell, Essek is distracted by fiddling with some jewelry, using the mirrors reflection to guide him through placing all of his elaborate jewelry and earrings that seemed to always decorated his ears, neck, and fingers. It's almost amazing to Caleb how unattached Essek seems from the current situation. He doesn't seem to think anything unusual at all of Caleb's current predicament, and is entirely oblivious to the flush on Caleb's face that Caleb is desperately trying to contain, the way his hands shake and occasionally slip and fumble with the lacing going unnoticed by Essek, who appeared to be struggling to choose between two different earrings.

Trying hard to find distraction from his own untowards thoughts, Caleb does his best to fill the silence between them, which no longer feels comfortable to him. 

"I, um… I didn't realize you ever wore one of these." Caleb tries, and immediately wishes he went for a topic that was entirely unrelated to the task at hand. Was that rude of him to say? Did Essek not want him asking questions about it?

To Caleb's relief, Essek doesn't seem put off at all, even laughs a little.

"I usually do, it helps with my posture and gives some of my clothing more structure." Essek pauses for a moment before speaking again, as if what he's saying is of particular importance. "It's made from whale bone, as well."

Caleb doesn't know what else to do, since that means absolutely nothing to him, so he just nods as if he understands what Essek is talking about. He's surprised to hear Essek laugh again.

"I can tell you don't know what I mean. I understand, I know men in the empire don't tend to wear these often."

Caleb feels his face go red at having been so easily caught faking knowledge, though he supposes he should have known better. Essek was a smart man, after all. It's clear Essek isn't  _ making fun  _ of Caleb for not knowing, though, and he isn't teasing Caleb for pretending like he did. The tone of his voice was genuinely understanding and polite in nature, and perhaps just the tiniest bit…  _ playful _ ? At least if the smile on Essek's face is anything to go by.

"Whalebone corsets are easily enchanted compared to regular ones. Us Wizards are easy targets, and this provides a significant amount of extra protection." Essek explains, with a polite smile, and Caleb finds himself suddenly intrigued by the corset on more than just a visual level.

"Is it not uncomfortable?" Caleb asks, now genuinely fascinated with the device. The nature of it piqued his interest now that he knew it was enchanted, but he struggled to politely study the corset without feeling like he was staring inappropriately at Essek's narrow waist, so he returned all of his focus to the laces on Essek's back.

"Only if laced excessively tight, or if I wear it for extended periods- That's tight enough." Caleb moves onto the next section of lace quickly, and Essek carries on."I have actually slept in it a few times, but only when it was laced very loosely."

Caleb asks a few more questions before they fall into silence once more, although this time it feels a little less uncomfortable than before. Occasionally Essek interrupts the quiet to direct Caleb to go tighter, or to tell Caleb that he's laced a section tight enough. At one point, Essek even praises Caleb's on his lacing technique, but Caleb is otherwise left to his own thoughts, which he's beginning to worry is a surefire way to disaster. 

_ Somehow _ , by the grace of the gods and a little direction from Essek, Caleb manages to lace the top half of Essek's corset properly. 

Which means he has to lace the bottom half of Essek's corset now.

He can do this. 

...Right?

He takes a deep breath, and then draws back the section of lace that he needs to tighten as quickly as possible, leaving only the smallest of brushes against Essek's lower back as he hooks his fingers behind the lace to pull it tight.

To touch Essek in such an intimate area, even through clothing and as delicately and quickly as he did, makes him a little weak in the knees. Essek had never encouraged this type of touch between them before, and it felt almost forbidden now, even if Caleb's intentions were innocent. Essek acts like nothing is out of the ordinary, but Caleb's mouth is dry and his head is spinning with the echoes of what it felt like to touch Essek in an area he usually wouldn't dare.

While Caleb never quite manages to get his heart to stop racing, it gets progressively less difficult for Caleb to lace Essek's corset the farther he works up Essek's back, the touch feeling a little less intense when he wasn't intimately aware of how close his hands were to Essek's…

Well, Caleb doesn't need to finish the thought. He shouldn't be thinking about that right now anyways, considering that he was only trying to lend Essek a friendly hand. Caleb is painfully mindful of how ungentlemanly it is of him to have had even half of the thoughts he's had so far. Essek had trusted him to lace his corset without any untowards actions or thoughts, and yet here Caleb was, barely having stopped himself from slipping into a vivid daydream of incredibly inappropriate nature at the mere fleeting brush of his fingers against Essek's lower back.

He tries not to think about it as he pulls at the longer laces that meet between the two seperate sections of lacing that Caleb had just done, the strings going taught as he once again tightens it to Essek's liking.

As soon as he finishes tying it in place, he releases the laces and steps a respectable foot away from Essek, suddenly feeling like he can breathe again-

Only for him to make the mistake of looking at Essek's reflection in the mirror.

The front of Essek's shirt had fallen open, revealing Essek's fine, delicate collar bones. Like this, Caleb could see the white freckles that trailed down Essek's chest, like tiny stars against Essek's deep purple skin, and Caleb is not sure if he's staring more at the freckles, or at the ever-so-slightly visible curve of Essek's breast, which is still, thankfully, fully covered by Essek's undershirt. The collar of Essek's silk shirt hadn't opened enough that he had truly exposed anything indecent, but Caleb has never once seen so much of Essek's skin at a time, and it feels borderline scandalous to see Essek's bare collar bones.

Caleb has never felt so close to passing out just by looking at a few inches of a man's chest before.

Essek takes notice almost as quickly as Caleb does, and only a faint blush appears on Essek's face as he adjusts the neckline of his shirt to cover his entire chest and collarbones once more, shooting Caleb a knowing smile.

When Caleb realizes he's been caught staring, he quickly averts his eyes to the floor, face heated.

"Do you- uhm- need my assistance with anything else?" Caleb fumbles, and Essek gives Caleb a strange look.

"Ah… No, I don't… You never said why you came though…?"

"Oh!" Now that Essek has reminded him, Caleb remembers that there was a  _ reason  _ he came here, although now it seems so unimportant, and he's confident that every second he currently spends in Essek's presence has him looking like more and more of a fool in Essek's eyes. He's sure the polite thing to do would be to just  _ leave  _ after being caught staring so openly, but he didn't want to leave Essek hanging. "I just, uhm, wanted to let you know that we were planning on going to Nicodranas today, to visit Veth and Jester's families. If you have nothing to attend to in Rosohna yet, you're welcome to join us, as always."

Essek perks up a little at that. "I still have no pressing duties currently, so if it's no trouble…?"

That makes Caleb a little more excited, as Essek doesn't get the chance to stay with them while they're travelling often. Apparently Essek had already pulled some strings to join them as long as he had, but Caleb feels no need to look a gift horse in the mouth. It gave him the perfect opportunity to escape the oddly  _ charged  _ environment as well.

" _ Wunderbar!  _ I will let the others know you're joining us, then." Caleb said, already stepping back to leave, hoping Essek couldn't see him literally  _ sweating _ despite the comfortable temperature.

"Ah... Of course…" There is a small shift in Essek's behavior. Caleb isn't entirely sure, but he senses perhaps… disappointment? 

The mood seems to pass quickly and Essek smiles at Caleb. "Let them know I'll be ready shortly, if you will."

Caleb nods, and then flees the room as quickly as socially acceptable.

Essek sits in his room alone for several moments after that, absolutely baffled at Caleb's inability to take a hint and realise he was flirting.


End file.
